Best of Show Winners from FinovateFall 2024 Join the Finovate Podcast

Best of Show Winners from FinovateFall 2024 Join the Finovate Podcast

Looking for some entertaining and insightful listening this holiday week? Greg Palmer and the Finovate Podcast have you covered!

This week the Finovate blog is sharing Greg’s conversations with seven of the eight Best of Show winning companies from FinovateFall 2024. From discussions about the growing importance of innovation in helping banks and other FIs meet ever-changing compliance requirements to the challenge of call-center security and defending against AI fraud, this latest round of interviews from the Finovate Podcast share insights and accomplishments from some of fintech’s finest.

“FinovateFall’s Best of Show winners come from different backgrounds and contain a wide range of solutions, but they all have one thing in common: they were able to capture the attention of our audience in a very competitive landscape,” podcast host Greg Palmer said. “Hear more of their stories and find out why they’re worthy of your attention too.”


Greg Palmer and Neepa Patel of Themis talk about compliance administration and how fintechs and financial services companies can avoid becoming a target for regulators. EP 238.


Greg Palmer interviews Rithwik Pattikonda of CardLift on payments via browser extensions. EP 237.


Podcast host Greg Palmer talks with Daniel and Joseph Ahn of Delfi on the dangers of balance sheet risk and its macroeconomic impact. EP 236.


Greg Palmer and Bancography’s Steven Reider discuss the importance of physical branches and making sure they are in the right places. EP 235.


Greg Palmer talks about call-center security and AI-based fraud with Illuma’s Milind Borkar. EP 234.


Credit Mountain’s Nathan Pinto talks about the “warm decline” and relationship-building with podcast host Greg Palmer. EP 233.


Greg Palmer and Eko’s Mart Vos discuss a new approach to bringing investing capabilities inside FIs. EP 232.


Photo by Jonathan Velasquez on Unsplash

Six Alums Raised More Than $16 Million in Q3 2024

Six Alums Raised More Than $16 Million in Q3 2024

According to market intelligence platform Tracxn, funding for U.S.-based tech companies in Q3 of this year fell, both in comparison to the previous quarter as well as when compared to Q3 2023. Tracxn also reported that the number of tech unicorns actually increased this year compared to last year, with 13 new unicorns acknowledged in Q3 2024 compared to just five in Q3 2023. And while the report took this as a positive sign that “investor sentiment is stable,” there are other indications that the much-anticipated return to more robust funding trends for tech companies in general, and fintechs in particular, has yet to arrive.

Laura Bock, partner at QED Investors, was quoted in The Financial Brand back in January saying that “53% of fintechs will be cash out by Q3 2024 if they do not raise or exit.” We have a few more days before some of the research firms begin producing their Q3 reports on fintech funding, but clearly expectations are low.

Looking at our own Finovate alum funding for Q3 2024, we see plenty of evidence of the funding drought. In terms of the number of alums that reported receiving funding, as well as the amounts invested, Q3 alum funding for this year is as low as it has been in quite some time.

Previous quarterly comparisons

  • Q3 2023: More than $293 million raised by eight alums
  • Q3 2022: More than $1 billion raised by eight alums
  • Q3 2021: More than $1.1 billion raised by 14 alums
  • Q3 2020: More than $1.2 billion raised by 21 alums

Top equity investments

The top equity investment for Finovate alums in Q3 2024 was the $9 million raised by Illuma Labs. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, and founded in 2016, Illuma Labs debuted at FinovateSpring 2019 and has been a staple of our Spring and Fall conferences ever since. The company won Best of Show at FinovateFall in September for a demo of its Illuma Shield real-time voice authentication solution, now equipped with the latest deepfake detection technology to help prevent account takeover fraud.

Also noteworthy were the fundraisings from two brand-new alums: Dotfile, a regtech based in Paris, France, which debuted at FinovateEurope in February; and Scamnetic, an AI-powered anti-fraud solution provider that first appeared on the Finovate stage at FinovateFall in New York last month.


Here is our detailed alumni funding report for Q3 2024.

July 2024: An undisclosed amount raised by one alum

August: More than $1.3 million raised by two alums

September: More than $15 million raised by three alums

If you are a Finovate alum that raised money in the third quarter of 2024 and do not see your company listed, please drop us a note at research@finovate.com. We would love to share the good news! Funding received prior to becoming an alum not included.


Photo by Kindel Media

Best of Show Winner Illuma Labs Raises $9 Million in Series A Funding

Best of Show Winner Illuma Labs Raises $9 Million in Series A Funding

Voice authentication technology innovator Illuma Labs has raised $9 million in funding. The Series A round was led by LiveOak Ventures and featured participation from Forefront Ventures, Curql Fund, UsNet, Capital Factory, Connexus, and TDECU.

As the first major investment for the company, the capital will help accelerate the development of Illuma’s voice verification offerings to help banks and other institutions fight fraud, voice cloning, deep fakes, and more. Illuma Labs also plans to leverage the funding to expand its reach to more credit unions and banks across the country.

“While we are excited about the capital infusion to accelerate our development of fraud prevention and deep fake detection tools, we are equally excited about bringing in new partners to fuel Illuma’s continued commercial growth,” Illuma Co-Founder and CEO Milind Borkar said. He praised both LiveOak Ventures and Forefront Ventures for their operational expertise and industry connections and thanked investors Curql Fund, UsNet, Capital Factory, Connexus, and TDECU for their “continued support.”

Illuma Labs offers banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions the ability to replace their traditional, knowledge-based authentication protocols with a secure, real-time voice authentication solution. The company’s flagship product, Illuma Shield, delivers effortless authentication that enhances the customer experience, improves operational efficiency, and prevents fraud in contact centers.

The funding news arrives one month after the identity verification specialist inked a partnership with Americu Credit Union. The New York State-based CU added voice recognition technology to its Member Contact Center courtesy of a partnership with Illuma announced in August. Earlier this year, Illuma announced that SF Fire Credit Union was adding voice authentication technology to its call center via a collaboration between Illuma and fellow Finovate alum Glia.

Headquartered in Plano, Texas, and founded in 2016, Illuma Labs made its Finovate debut at FinovateSpring 2019. The company most recently demoed its technology on the Finovate stage earlier this month at FinovateFall, winning Best of Show for its latest deepfake detection technology that helps banks fend off a new generation of AI-enabled fraudsters.


Photo by panumas nikhomkhai

FinovateFall 2024 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateFall 2024 Best of Show Winners Announced

After two days of live demos from more than 65 fintech companies, the attendees of FinovateFall 2024 have made their decisions as to which of these innovators will take home Finovate’s coveted Best of Show awards. Featuring both Finovate newcomers and Finovate veterans alike, the winners of Best of Show for FinovateFall 2024 are listed below.

Bancography for its software tool that lets bankers predicate branch investments on sound market data, not intuition, preventing costly missteps and ensuring optimized investments.

CardLift for its solution that enables companies to build a co-branded browser extension for their partners that automatically finds and switches users’ card-on-file to their partners’ card.

Credit Mountain for its technology that helps organizations grow their businesses by retaining, nurturing, and cross-selling declined borrowers.

Delfi Labs for its technology that creates efficient risk management and hedging strategies in minutes, enabling clients to defend margins, enhance performance, and raise valuation.

Eko Investments for its platform that offers investments via a financial advisor to all clients–and not just the top 1%–starting from $10.

Illuma for its innovations in deepfake detection that enable community financial institutions to keep their members and customers connected with their funds in a convenient and secure manner.

Nest Bank & Efigence for their collaboration, N! Assistant, a virtual AI-powered assistant that revolutionizes finance.

Themis for its solution that enhances compliance efficiency, minimizes regulatory risk, and fosters seamless collaboration, empowering banks and fintechs to focus on growth and innovation in financial services.

Please join us in congratulating our eight, Best of Show-winning companies. Let’s also raise a glass to all of our demoing companies for their innovations in fields ranging from regtech and payments to lending, wealth management, and beyond. We are especially grateful for our attendees and sponsors, whose support continues make our Finovate conferences among the most anticipated events in our industry. We look forward to seeing you again next year!


Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate (the companies) on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The six companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballots were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from our 2015 through 2024 conferences are below:
FinovateEurope 2015
FinovateSpring 2015
FinovateFall 2015
FinovateEurope 2016
FinovateSpring 2016
FinovateFall 2016
FinovateAsia 2016
FinovateEurope 2017
FinovateSpring 2017
FinovateFall 2017
FinovateAsia 2017
FinovateMiddleEast 2018
FinovateEurope 2018
FinovateSpring 2018
FinovateFall 2018
FinovateAsia 2018
FinovateAfrica 2018
FinovateEurope 2019
FinovateSpring 2019
FinovateFall 2019
FinovateAsia 2019
FinovateMiddleEast 2019
FinovateEurope 2020
FinovateFall 2020
FinovateWest 2020
FinovateEurope 2021
FinovateSpring 2021
FinovateFall 2021
FinovateEurope 2022
FinovateSpring 2022
FinovateFall 2022
FinovateEurope 2023
FinovateSpring 2023
FinovateFall 2023
FinovateEurope 2024
FinovateSpring 2024

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FinovateFall 2024 Sneak Peek Series: Part 7

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall in New York on September 9 and 10. Register today using this link and save 20%.

Ascent

Ascent streamlines and simplifies any and all product applications and forms across an FI without disrupting existing systems and processes, while learning from every customer interaction.

Features

  • Eliminates buying a different solution to solve each product application experience or problem
  • Reduces abandonment
  • Improves cross-sell
  • Grows loyalty

Who’s it for?

Community banks, regional banks, credit unions, CUSOs, non-bank lenders, and insurance carriers looking to reduce the cost and complexity of delivering great experiences across the enterprise.

Finli

Finli, a certified B Corp, offers SMBs trusted and easy-to-use financial tools. The company helps FIs compete through expanded digital services that drive deposits and strengthen customer relationships.

Features

FI’s can view Finli as their SMB obsessed innovation team that offers

  • Real-time business health insights
  • Complete back office suite of digital services for SMBs
  • Secure digital payments

Who’s it for?

Banks and credit unions looking to drive business deposits and offer innovative digital tools to business clients.

Flextract

Flextract uses AI to extract structured data from complex financial documents, eliminating manual copy-paste and enhancing accuracy.

Features

  • Supports a wide variety of complex document types and layouts
  • Automates complex operational processes that need large teams of human analysts
  • Delivers structured data without workflow changes

Who’s it for?

Commercial lenders, mortgage lenders, wealth managers, and asset managers.

getAIreports.com (by Stock Unlock)

getAIreports.com (by Stock Unlock) automates report generation using AI, transforming complex data into clear insights. The company streamlines reporting processes, saving time and improving decision-making for businesses, allowing companies to focus on their core competencies.

Features

  • Saves time generating comprehensive reports
  • Closes more deals with clear, data-driven insights
  • Drives actionable insights with accurate AI summaries on financial data

Who’s it for?

Any businesses that generate reports.

Illuma

IllumaShield™ by Illuma streamlines caller verification with a frictionless voice biometrics authentication solution that protects against account takeovers.

Features

  • Improves account security and customer satisfaction
  • Reduces caller verification time by 85% or more
  • Deploys quickly with low lift from internal IT resources

Who’s it for?

Community banks, regional banks, and credit unions that need a state-of-the-art solution to prevent fraud in contact centers.

Vectari

Vectari’s software can be thought of as “compliance expertise as a service.” Their cloud-hosted subscription software services find hidden trends in customer interactions.

Features

  • Reduces operational costs of servicing customers due to avoidable errors
  • Reduces regulatory risk caused by compliance errors
  • Provides better oversight of third-party partners and servicers

Who’s it for?

Financial institutions of all flavors, particularly mid-size banks, BaaS and embedded finance banks, and non-bank FIs involved in loan servicing.

ZayZoon

ZayZoon’s Embedded EWA, trusted by 180+ HR and payroll companies since 2014, delivers custom end-to-end solutions that enhance offerings, attract clients, and drive new revenue.

Features

  • Offers dynamic embedded tile
  • Provides mass employee activation
  • Delivers smart and trackable embedded EWA

Who’s it for?

HR and payroll companies, including SMBs.

FinovateFall 2023 Sneak Peek: Illuma

FinovateFall 2023 Sneak Peek: Illuma

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall in New York on September 11 and 12. Register today and save your spot.

Illuma Shield Voice Authentication integrated with Glia’s Digital Customer Service platform for frictionless yet secure voice engagements.

Features

  • Better customer experience with frictionless account access
  • Improved operational efficiency by cutting minutes from each phone call
  • Better security with biometric voice authentication

Why it’s great

The Illuma Shield voice authentication integration with Glia improves operational efficiency, security, and customer experience for community banks and credit unions.

Presenters

Milind Borkar, Founder & CEO
Borkar brings a background in R&D and more than 50 successful product launches to his role as Founder and CEO of Illuma Labs.
LinkedIn

Greg Cummings, Director, Global ISV Partners
Cummings has over 20 years of experience in the customer engagement space and currently serves as the Director of Global ISV Partnerships at Glia.
LinkedIn

Glia Taps Illuma Labs to Bring Voice Authentication to its Customer Service Platform

Glia Taps Illuma Labs to Bring Voice Authentication to its Customer Service Platform

Digital customer service provider Glia is enhancing its Glia Interaction Platform with a partnership with voice authentication provider Illuma Labs. Glia has integrated Illuma’s voice authentication technology into its customer service platform to help organizations streamline voice authentication for customer service interactions.

Glia anticipates the new addition will not only prevent fraud, but also enhance the customer experience and improve operational efficiency. “Illuma Shield fits seamlessly with the Glia Interaction Platform, adding more efficiency by making voice authentication effortless,” explained Illuma CEO and Founder Milind Borkar. “Our joint customers are experiencing the real value that the Glia and Illuma partnership delivers.”

Illuma Shield is Illuma’s flagship voice biometrics product that integrates signal processing, AI, and machine learning. The technology works in the background to authenticate customers during an interaction and prevent account takeover. Meanwhile, the customer service representative doesn’t need to make unnecessary clicks or spend time on data entry during or after the call. And because the user interface shows up on the agent’s existing screen, they don’t have to open up a different window.

The Glia Interaction platform is comprised of digital, phone, and self-service customer service options. The range of solutions not only provides customers a variety of options when seeking out customer service, but it also offers end users a seamless, omni-channel experience in the event they need to change communication channels.

“Authentication, particularly for phone banking, has traditionally been cumbersome and a major source of friction,” said Glia SVP of Alliances Steve Kaish. “By verifying enrolled customers in the first few seconds of natural conversation with the Illuma Shield software, Glia quickly enables an authenticated interaction, reducing fraud and letting customers focus on their immediate need, be it an account balance, mortgage inquiry or loan origination.”

Glia was founded in 2012 as SaleMove. The New York-based company offers digital communication environments, on-screen collaboration, and AI-enabled assistance tools for clients who need to support end customers online, over the phone, in home office environments, and via video. In total, Glia has facilitated more than 10 billion customer interactions. The company has raised $152 million and counts Envestnet, Deutsche Bank, and United Healthcare among its clients.  Glia has taken home 10 Finovate Best of Show awards for its live demos and most recently showcased its tools at FinovateSpring 2021. 

Founded in 2016, Illuma seeks to help credit unions boost their brand reputation with a modern and seamless member experience and better security. The Texas-based company has raised $2.5 million. Illuma appeared on the FinovateSpring stage last month in San Francisco with a demo of how it brings passive voice authentication to Glia’s customer service interactions.


Photo by MART PRODUCTION

FinovateSpring 2023 Sneak Peek: Illuma

FinovateSpring 2023 Sneak Peek: Illuma

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateSpring in San Francisco on May 23 and 24. Register today and save your spot.

Illuma’s Shield Voice Authentication is now integrated with Glia’s Digital Customer Service Platform for frictionless yet secure voice engagements.

Features

  • Better customer experience with frictionless account access
  • Improved operational efficiency by cutting minutes from each phone call
  • Better security with biometric voice authentication

Why it’s great

The Illuma Shield voice authentication integration with Glia improves operational efficiency, security, and customer experience for community banks and credit unions.

Presenters

Milind Borkar, Founder & CEO
Borkar brings a background in R&D and more than 50 successful product launches to his role as Founder and CEO of Illuma Labs.
LinkedIn

Greg Cummings, Director, Global ISV Partners
Cummings has over 20 years of experience in the customer engagement space and currently serves as the Director of Global ISV Partnerships at Glia.
LinkedIn

FinovateFall 2022 Sneak Peek: Illuma

FinovateFall 2022 Sneak Peek: Illuma

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall in New York on September 12 and 13. Register today and save your spot.

Illuma Shield Voice Authentication is integrated with Posh Technologies’ Conversational AI IVR for deployment in the contact center.

Features

  • Frictionless account access without pins/passcodes/passphrases
  • 24/7 customer service with a user friendly, conversational IVR
  • Better security with biometric voice authentication

Why it’s great

The Illuma Shield Voice Authentication + Posh Conversational IVR integration improves operational efficiency, security, and customer experience for community banks and credit unions.

Presenters

Milind Borkar, CEO & Founder, Illuma Labs
Borkar brings a background in R&D and more than 50 successful product launches to his role at Illuma Labs.
LinkedIn

Karan Kashyap, CEO & Co-Founder, Posh
Posh is a conversational AI fintech working with FIs. Kashyap is an alumni of MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab.
LinkedIn

Chad Rogers, EVP & COO, Connexus Credit Union
At Connexus Credit union ($4.9B in assets), Rogers leads a talented senior leadership team delivering exceptional experiences to ~420K members nationwide.
LinkedIn

Voice Verification Solution Provider Illuma Labs Secures Investment from NYCUA and UsNet

Voice Verification Solution Provider Illuma Labs Secures Investment from NYCUA and UsNet
  • Illuma Labs, maker of the Illuma Shield voice verification platform, raised new funding this week from NYCUA and UsNet.
  • The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The funding comes one year after Illuma Labs secured $2.5 million in funding from the Curql Fund.
  • This week’s funding comes one month after the company partnered with Posh Technologies to win the “Next Big Thing” award from NACUSO (National Association of Credit Union Service Organizations) and Co-Op Solutions.

Voice authentication innovator llluma Labs secured new funding this week. The company announced that the New York Credit Union Association (NYCUA) and its affiliate UsNet, have teamed up to invest in the Plano, Texas-based company and support further development of its flagship Illuma Shield voice verification solution.

The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The company raised $2.5 million in funding from the Curql Fund just over a year ago

A Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO), Illuma Labs considers credit unions to be its key customers, investors, and partners. The company’s Illuma Shield technology enables call centers to leverage passive voice authentication to improve the user experience, guard against fraudsters, and boost operational efficiency by reducing call handle times, hold times, and abandon rates. A cost-effective, easy to deploy, and simple to use solution for mid-size financial institution call centers, Illuma Shield analyzes the unique aspects of a speaker’s voice and their communication device to create an AudioPrint that can be used to verify identity on subsequent calls. The AudioPrint process happens in the background, during normal conversation, without requiring the speaker to answer security questions or recite passphrases.

“This technology uses state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Voice Biometrics to address three of the top concerns for credit unions today,” Illuma Shield founder and CEO Milind Borkar said. “The platform improves member experience by emulating the warm welcome of a brick-and-mortar visit while offering a very high level of protection against account takeovers. Cutting out the security Q&A process also creates operational efficiency by shortening call times. The infusion of investment from NYCUA and UsNet is highly valued since it helps us expand to serve even more credit unions.”

A Finovate alum since 2019, Illuma Labs announced a partnership with SCE Credit Union, a $1 billion institution with more than 60,000 members in Southern California and Southern Nevada, in May. Also that month, Illuma Labs and Posh Technologies collaborated to win the “Next Big Idea” award from NACUSO and Co-Op Solutions. The partnership combined the passive voice authentication of Illuma Labs’ Illuma Shield and Posh Technologies’ conversational AI IVR to help call centers cope with high call volume and talent shortages.

“Posh’s conversational AI and Illuma’s voice biometrics is a combination that makes sense,” Posh co-founder Karan Kashyap said. “As we do our parts as CUSOs to bring transformative technology to the credit union market, our partnership will enhance member security for credit unions while offering a streamlined authentication experience for the caller – a win-win. We look forward to a bright future with Illuma Labs.”


Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán

FinovateSpring 2022 Sneak Peek: Illuma

FinovateSpring 2022 Sneak Peek: Illuma

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateSpring in San Francisco on May 18 and 19. Register today and save your spot.

Illuma Shield voice authentication is integrated with Posh Technologies’ Conversational AI IVR for deployment in the contact center.

Features

  • Frictionless account access without PINs, passcodes, or passphrases
  • 24/7 customer service with a user friendly, conversational IVR
  • Better security with biometric voice authentication

Why it’s great

The Illuma Shield voice authentication + Posh Conversational IVR integration improves operational efficiency, security, and customer experience for community banks and credit unions.

Presenters

Milind Borkar, CEO & Founder, Illuma
Borkar brings a background in R&D and more than 50 successful product launches to his role as founder and CEO of Illuma Labs.
LinkedIn

Scott Stinocher, Web App Developer, TruWest Credit Union
Stinocher is a Web App Developer with 10 years of experience in IT and five years of experience in the financial sector.
LinkedIn

Karan Kashyap, CEO & Co-Founder, Posh Technologies
In 2013, Kashyap began his journey at MIT, which included undergraduate and graduate degrees focused on AI, where he was named a Siebel Scholar for his research work.

While he was completing his graduate degree, he began AI and software consulting with enterprises across multiple industries, building a business foundation, and establishing a pathway to the beginning of Posh. Posh now has more than 50 clients across the banking and credit union space with an ever-growing client base and employee roster.
LinkedIn

FinovateFall 2021 Sneak Peek: Illuma Labs

FinovateFall 2021 Sneak Peek: Illuma Labs

A look at the companies demoing at FinovateFall on September 13-15, 2021. Register today and save your spot.

Illuma Shield provides passive voice authentication for call centers. It elevates the user experience, enhances security against fraudsters, and improves operational efficiency.

Features

  • Elevate user experience with frictionless authentication
  • Reduce average handle time, hold times, and abandon rates
  • Enhance security against fraudsters

Why it’s great
Passive voice authentication is finally within reach for mid-size FI contact centers. It’s cost effective, easy to deploy, and simple to use.

Presenters

Milind Borkar, CEO & Founder
Borkar has over a decade experience spanning R&D and marketing and leads the IP and business development activities for the company.
LinkedIn

Ryan Harmon, Software Developer
Harmon is a software developer at Illuma Labs and has a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Dallas.
LinkedIn